We demonstrate photon-noise limited performance at sub-millimeter wavelengths in feedhorn-coupled, microwave kinetic inductance detectors made of a TiN/Ti/TiN trilayer superconducting film, tuned to have a transition temperature of 1.4 K. Micro-machining of the silicon-on-insulator wafer backside creates a quarter-wavelength backshort optimized for efficient coupling at 250 μm. Using frequency read out and when viewing a variable temperature blackbody source, we measure device noise consistent with photon noise when the incident optical power is >0.5 pW, corresponding to noise equivalent powers >3 × 10-17W/√Hz. This sensitivity makes these devices suitable for broadband photometric applications at these wavelengths.
CITATION STYLE
Hubmayr, J., Beall, J., Becker, D., Cho, H. M., Devlin, M., Dober, B., … Gao, J. (2015). Photon-noise limited sensitivity in titanium nitride kinetic inductance detectors. Applied Physics Letters, 106(7). https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4913418
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